I know I have said it over and over and I will say it over and over again. I HATE Wal-Mart. Everyone raves and raves about how much money you can save shopping at Wal-Mart. I decided to take the Wal-Mart challenge. Last week I went to Fry’s a Kroger Brand store here in Phoenix, AZ. I took my grocery list and made it very specific.
3lbs ground beef
Chicken Breast 2 packages
Pork Chops
Bacon
Dz. Large Eggs
2 Gallons of milk
bell peppers
spring onions
cucumbers
avocados
3-1lb spring salad mix containers
Cream cheese
Frozen veggies
Fresh fish
Corn Beef brisket
A head of cabbage
Salad dressing
Cat litter 20 lb bags
2 package of lunch meat
14 Cans of Soft Cat food
Season packages
2 gallons of spring water
Shredded cheese
I know an item or 2 got in there too. I can’t remember what they were. I spent $164, ouch!
I went to Wally and got the same items minus shredded cheese and bacon – Wal-Mart will not honor buy 1 get 1 free or percentages off. I knew about the percentage thing.
3lbs ground beef
Chicken Breast 2 packages
Pork Chops
18 ct Large Eggs
2 Gallons of milk
bell peppers
spring onions
cucumbers
avocados
3-1lb spring salad mix containers
Cream cheese
Frozen veggies
Fresh fish
Corn Beef brisket
A head of cabbage
Salad dressing
Cat litter 30 lb bags
2 package of lunch meat
10 Cans of Soft Cat food
Season packages
2 gallons of spring water
I know what snuck in my cart this week, a box of ring pops for when I have that sugar craving I can’t get away from, 2 plant saucers to use as water dishes for Sammie, 2 cute little plant hanger critters, you know the ones that hang to the side of the pot, I got a turtle and a frog. I got a movie out of the movie bin for $5, Aaron got a video game, I got 2 magazine organizer bins in pink, a note pad, 2 packages of Nerf dart gun refill pack, package of baby wipes, 16 lb of cat dry cat food, mustard, ketchup, cider vinegar, 1 pablano pepper and a Glow in the Dark Skylander figure.
I spend 194.00 at Wal-mart. $30 more, but look at all that I bought, the video game was $20 by itself, and the Skylander toy was $10. There is my $30.
So I admit, I still HATE Wal-Mart, but I also admit, Wal-Mart is cheaper, I easily would have spent over $220 if I had bought all this same stuff at Fry’s. I would have had to gone to Petsmart for the dry cat food. There I will have spend $12-13 on it, I paid $10.99 at Wal-Mart price matching. I do have to go to Safeway tomorrow and get the cheese and bacon still, but that is a small price to pay for the amount of money I saved at Wal-Mart.
Now I have to tell my Dad he was right, Wal-Mart is cheaper to shop at. I just wish I could go and enjoy myself there during the day. I went at 11:30 at night to avoid having to stand in line for half an hour or more. That is why I HATE Wal-Mart so much, the last time I was there buying supplies for back to school, I was in line, arms full of clothes, and note books and such. The line was backed up to the clothing department and running alongside the clothing department 4 or 5 more people. 2 lines where currently open. Then all of a sudden they closed one of the lines. For 10 minutes the line did not more. I set my stuff down on the ground right there were I was standing. I hadn’t really been back again until tonight. My son was in 1st grade on my last visit, he is in 6th grade now. I was looking for a way to tighten my budget without sacrificing eating healthy. So now I am going to shop at Wal-Mart, but only late at night when getting through line won’t take me all day.
Saturday, January 26, 2013
Friday, January 25, 2013
Sammie, Scorch and Cinder
I brought home another Three Toed Box Turtle today. A female. She is smaller than my Ornate Box Turtle and 100x larger than the baby Tokka. She is missing a nail on her back foot. She has a light straw coloring and spots on her face, but not a whole lot. Her shell almost has a flat top to it. Kind of weird really. She is camping out in my kitchen right now behind the trash can. My son decided to call her Samantha. So her name is Samantha, but will most like call her Sammie.
She was well cared for where ever she came from except for the nails. Her beak is in book shape, her nose and eyes are clear.
I actually was planning on getting this turtle since I saw her 3 weeks ago. I thought she needed a good home. That she shouldn't live in some tiny little cage. Her cage wasn't much bigger than the a 10 gallon tank, much to small for an adult box turtle.
I was watching her in her cage at the store. She was active and munching on her lettuce. I haven't had any regrets with bringing home animals from this store. They take good care of them.
I also discovered Fire Belly Newts today. They are cute and small, about the size of a pinky finger. That includes their tail. I am leaning on naming them Scorch and Cinder, that is unless I think of something I like better.
She was well cared for where ever she came from except for the nails. Her beak is in book shape, her nose and eyes are clear.
I actually was planning on getting this turtle since I saw her 3 weeks ago. I thought she needed a good home. That she shouldn't live in some tiny little cage. Her cage wasn't much bigger than the a 10 gallon tank, much to small for an adult box turtle.
I was watching her in her cage at the store. She was active and munching on her lettuce. I haven't had any regrets with bringing home animals from this store. They take good care of them.
I also discovered Fire Belly Newts today. They are cute and small, about the size of a pinky finger. That includes their tail. I am leaning on naming them Scorch and Cinder, that is unless I think of something I like better.
I think these are Chinese Fire Belly Newts. They should only grow a little more and end up about 3 inches.
You can't tell from this picture but they have orange bellies, just like Fire Belly toads.They are cute, I can't wait to see what kind of personalilties they have.
R.I.P Howard Hughes 1/24/13
I discovered Howard Hughes was dead when I was making the rounds checking on the animals last night. I am not really certain of his age the guy I got him from I said he was at least 5 years old, but he seemed to think he was a little older than that. This is very sad, I had been searching for a Howard for 2 years. I got Howard just have Thanksgiving so I only had him a few months. I do still have his mini me, but it not the same Tiny is not as big as Howard, but some day he will be.
Good-bye Howard, I will miss you.
Sunday, January 13, 2013
The baby is named and Sunday Stitch in progress
I named my new baby three toe. We ended up going with Tokka. Tokka was the snapping turtle from the late 80’s or perhaps he early 90’s Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: Secret of the Ooze. Several names where suggested, Gamera, which I think I will save for a large species tort, anything big enough to take on Godzilla needs to be big. Other names where Squirt from Finding Nemo, Torkoal – a fire tortoise Pokémon, Dry Bones and Koopa from Super Mario Brothers. Morla from Never Ending Story, Aford a turtle from a comic strip and Cecil the turtle from Looney Toons.
This is Tokka from TMNT II for those of you that missed this movie. It is fun movie, but not a top 10 by any means, and is easily forgotten unless you have a boy who goes through the TMNT phase for a short period of time. The little boy I use to baby sit use to watch this one nonstop on weekend I baby sat too. He was 3 then so it has to been about 18years or so.
Tokka
A little crafting on Saturday. I built Tokka’ s cage yesterday. IT is the same size as a 20 gallon long aquarium, but made of hard wood instead of the glass. I used Poplar boards to make the box for Tokka. I have placed a 20 gallon screen lid on top of the box only to keep the curious cats out of the box, they would think the dirt is a great place for leaving treasures and Tokka may be too entertaining to resist. I put handles on the box so I can have an easy time of picking up and moving the box if needed.
Tokka’s new box.
I also made this No-sew Quilted ornament yesterday evening. I went through my fabric drawer to see what I had that would make a good ornament. This is the same fabric that was used to make my quilted turtle wall hanging. For a first attempt I like the way it turned out. I still need to add the ribbon hanger.
This weeks work on my Owl and the Pussycat piece.
This is last week’s work on The Great Escape. This is turning out to be a lot of fun. I love the feather stitches down the owl’s breast and the sombrero stitches and the first stitch I did, the ones forming the top part of WOLs body. This is going to be a lot of fun.
Time to go and help the boy with his science experiment.
This is Tokka from TMNT II for those of you that missed this movie. It is fun movie, but not a top 10 by any means, and is easily forgotten unless you have a boy who goes through the TMNT phase for a short period of time. The little boy I use to baby sit use to watch this one nonstop on weekend I baby sat too. He was 3 then so it has to been about 18years or so.
Tokka
A little crafting on Saturday. I built Tokka’ s cage yesterday. IT is the same size as a 20 gallon long aquarium, but made of hard wood instead of the glass. I used Poplar boards to make the box for Tokka. I have placed a 20 gallon screen lid on top of the box only to keep the curious cats out of the box, they would think the dirt is a great place for leaving treasures and Tokka may be too entertaining to resist. I put handles on the box so I can have an easy time of picking up and moving the box if needed.
Tokka’s new box.
I also made this No-sew Quilted ornament yesterday evening. I went through my fabric drawer to see what I had that would make a good ornament. This is the same fabric that was used to make my quilted turtle wall hanging. For a first attempt I like the way it turned out. I still need to add the ribbon hanger.
This weeks work on my Owl and the Pussycat piece.
This is last week’s work on The Great Escape. This is turning out to be a lot of fun. I love the feather stitches down the owl’s breast and the sombrero stitches and the first stitch I did, the ones forming the top part of WOLs body. This is going to be a lot of fun.
Time to go and help the boy with his science experiment.
Friday, January 11, 2013
Turtle, cats and owls oh my
I joined a Sunday SAL and did some stitching on Sunday while having a Lord of the Rings movie Marathon.
Here is what I had done before
and what i got done. I will do more on this Sunday
Yes it is going to be big. This is Heaven and Earth Designs, Owl and the Pussycat.
This is my new baby turtle she or he is only a few months old, probably hatched in Late September to Mid October. The store I got him from got them back in Mid November. He is in the palm of my 12 year old son's hand. He is tiny for now; he won't ever grow huge like my other baby Turtle, but will grow to normal box turtle size.
This is a baby three toe Box turtle.
Name TBA at this point, have decided on what to call him yet.
Last weekend while having my LOTR movie marathon, my little blue kitten Emmy laid stretched out on the couch beside me. It is when I see my cats like this, with fully bellies, warm and comfy, without a care in the world that I wish I could be a spoiled house pet too.
The back of the other cat that you see is my one of my Siamese SkippyJohn.
Rhett Butler once again taking a great picture, of all my cats Rhett is my most photogenic.
I will post the new turtles name when I figure out what it is and more updates on Owl and the Pussycat since it is part of my resolution for 2013.
Here is what I had done before
and what i got done. I will do more on this Sunday
Yes it is going to be big. This is Heaven and Earth Designs, Owl and the Pussycat.
This is my new baby turtle she or he is only a few months old, probably hatched in Late September to Mid October. The store I got him from got them back in Mid November. He is in the palm of my 12 year old son's hand. He is tiny for now; he won't ever grow huge like my other baby Turtle, but will grow to normal box turtle size.
This is a baby three toe Box turtle.
Name TBA at this point, have decided on what to call him yet.
Last weekend while having my LOTR movie marathon, my little blue kitten Emmy laid stretched out on the couch beside me. It is when I see my cats like this, with fully bellies, warm and comfy, without a care in the world that I wish I could be a spoiled house pet too.
The back of the other cat that you see is my one of my Siamese SkippyJohn.
Rhett Butler once again taking a great picture, of all my cats Rhett is my most photogenic.
I will post the new turtles name when I figure out what it is and more updates on Owl and the Pussycat since it is part of my resolution for 2013.
Tuesday, January 1, 2013
New Year's Resolutions
I have always hated New Year's Resolutions, I never kept them. I now know why. I always made them to vague. I didn’t set reachable goals, something tangible. So I am doing things different this year. I set tangible goals.
1. To lose 75 or more lbs this year and not gain it back. That is about 1-1.5 lbs a week.
2. I would like to complete the building of 2 vivariums/terrariums for 2 different frog species I would like to get. My little Zoo Med front opening terrarium for Bumble Bee Dart frogs and my 55 Gallon for White’s tree frogs. When I say build, I mean the flooring, the substrate, the back wall, the water and lighting. So that they are ready to receive the animals I want for them.
3. Move Tiny into his permanent home from his baby home, he is currently in a 2 ½ gallon tank, and will move up to a 10 gallon like Howard is in.
4. Move Candy from her 10 gallon juvenile tank to her permanent 20 gallon long tank. This will be her 3rd and final tank; she started out in one of those plastic shoe box containers.
5. Finish stitching the cat designs I designed. I have 4 left to do.
6. Stitch 365 of those 10x10 grid squares of the pattern Owl and the Pussycat by Heaven and Earth Designs. That is 1 square a day. I may end up doing more. But I want to do at least 365 of them. There is over 2500 squares that need to be stitched and I have so far only done about 20-30 of them. I have a long way to go.
7. Finish Frog Pile. I started this earlier in 2012, or maybe it was late in 2011.
8. Stitch up the Dragon Dreams Christmyth series as ornaments.
9. Stitch up the 12 Days of Christmas by Dragon Dreams, there are 13 the 12th day has 2 drummer variations. Dragon a has the drum set type drums with the base, and snares and cymbals, etc… the one you typically see played by drummers in bands. The 2nd is a dragon playing the Bongos. Both are adorable. Now I have to rethink doing them up as a wall hanging set since there is an extra dragon. Maybe the extra dragon will just have to be a Christmas ornament for the tree.
10. To save $600 to have as an emergency fund with hopes that I never need it.
I think these are all things that I can do.
A quick update on the animals. December brought the lost of Red; he passed away in early December. I was sad to lose him; he had been on my desk at work since I returned from Utah in Oct 2011. With Red’s passing I moved his tanks mates Pip and Pop into an aquarium with 2 ghost shrimp. For a week while the tank was cycling it was just them. On Friday I added a pair of Dwarf Gouramis to the tank, since it is a small tank that is all that will go into this tank.
I will close with this picture of Howard and Tiny, I have wanted to get a picture of them side by side to show the size difference of the 2 frogs.
1. To lose 75 or more lbs this year and not gain it back. That is about 1-1.5 lbs a week.
2. I would like to complete the building of 2 vivariums/terrariums for 2 different frog species I would like to get. My little Zoo Med front opening terrarium for Bumble Bee Dart frogs and my 55 Gallon for White’s tree frogs. When I say build, I mean the flooring, the substrate, the back wall, the water and lighting. So that they are ready to receive the animals I want for them.
3. Move Tiny into his permanent home from his baby home, he is currently in a 2 ½ gallon tank, and will move up to a 10 gallon like Howard is in.
4. Move Candy from her 10 gallon juvenile tank to her permanent 20 gallon long tank. This will be her 3rd and final tank; she started out in one of those plastic shoe box containers.
5. Finish stitching the cat designs I designed. I have 4 left to do.
6. Stitch 365 of those 10x10 grid squares of the pattern Owl and the Pussycat by Heaven and Earth Designs. That is 1 square a day. I may end up doing more. But I want to do at least 365 of them. There is over 2500 squares that need to be stitched and I have so far only done about 20-30 of them. I have a long way to go.
7. Finish Frog Pile. I started this earlier in 2012, or maybe it was late in 2011.
8. Stitch up the Dragon Dreams Christmyth series as ornaments.
9. Stitch up the 12 Days of Christmas by Dragon Dreams, there are 13 the 12th day has 2 drummer variations. Dragon a has the drum set type drums with the base, and snares and cymbals, etc… the one you typically see played by drummers in bands. The 2nd is a dragon playing the Bongos. Both are adorable. Now I have to rethink doing them up as a wall hanging set since there is an extra dragon. Maybe the extra dragon will just have to be a Christmas ornament for the tree.
10. To save $600 to have as an emergency fund with hopes that I never need it.
I think these are all things that I can do.
A quick update on the animals. December brought the lost of Red; he passed away in early December. I was sad to lose him; he had been on my desk at work since I returned from Utah in Oct 2011. With Red’s passing I moved his tanks mates Pip and Pop into an aquarium with 2 ghost shrimp. For a week while the tank was cycling it was just them. On Friday I added a pair of Dwarf Gouramis to the tank, since it is a small tank that is all that will go into this tank.
I will close with this picture of Howard and Tiny, I have wanted to get a picture of them side by side to show the size difference of the 2 frogs.
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